Old Town Road
by LaCroixWitch
Summary: (Delena AU) Damon's going to take his horse to the old town road, he's going to ride 'til he can't no more. Elena likes horses, so when she meets the second Salvatore brother, she's in for a big surprise. The horses are in the back, the horse tack is attached. BASED OF THE LIL NAS X SONG
1. Old Town Road

Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries, the characters or the stories. I also do not own the song this is based off of.

Note: I apologize in advance to my followers. This is not my best work, but it is some gorgeous garbage.

* * *

Elena had never been to the boarding house before. Growing up, she vaguely knew about a house deep in the woods on the outskirts of town, but she never heard of anyone visiting it or never met anyone who lived there.

Stefan had scribbled some directions on a piece of paper after history class- they had a study date this afternoon and he wanted to show her his house.

"I have a few errands to run before we hang out, but if you get to the house before me, feel free to let yourself in. Just… don't mind my brother. His bark is worse than his bite." Stefan smirked to himself at those words. If Elena knew the truth, she would have laughed, but instead she raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I didn't know your brother lives in town. The way you talk about him I assumed you weren't very close."

"Well, I just moved back into town, and I didn't realize that Damon had moved back too. It's… complicated." He leaned in, giving her a chaste kiss on the forehead. "Alright, I'll see you later."

She pulled in the driveway, a long snaking cobblestone thing. It circled around a covered overhang, but there was a large parking pad in front of an expansive garage. She didn't want to block the garage doors, so she slotted her car in line with two others outside: A red Porsche, and a large black pickup truck. The truck was twice as tall as her car, towering above her on lifted wheels.

Grabbing her backpack from the trunk of her crossover SUV, she swung the door closed and walked toward the house. There was no doorbell, only a large, intimidating brass knocker. It felt like a chore just to lift it with her delicate hand. Three knocks later, there was no response. She was about to turn around and walk back to her car when the formidable mahogany door flew open, cool air creating a vacuum to the warm, humid September afternoon.

"Hello?" She called out. There was nobody to be seen. Cautiously, she stepped inside, the wood floors creaking under her step. The house was gorgeous- all wood paneling and oriental rugs. It was much fancier than she was used to. Following what sounded like the noise of clinking glasses, she found herself in the kitchen.

"In here" A smooth, velvet voice called out. Elena was pulled to it, it had roped her in.

He was standing there in the kitchen, a vision of domesticity. An antique glass pitcher sat on top of the granite counter next to an old fashioned juice press. A graveyard of lemon peels piled on a cutting board, assembled with the other telltale ingredients of lemonade: fresh lemons and a canister of sugar.

A weathered white dishrag was slung across the shoulder of his simple black v-neck t-shirt. A mop of piecy raven hair fell across his forehead, easily pushed away by the back of his hand. As Elena walked into the room, his head jerked up, her hazelnut eyes entranced in his icy blue gaze for the first time. He looked at her like he saw a ghost- a very beautiful ghost. For a brief moment, neither of them said a word, until the silence became incredibly awkward. It wasn't like Damon to miss a social queue, so he squinted his eyes and shook his head, jolting him back to reality. He strode toward her, wiping lemon juice on his sun-washed Wrangler jeans.

"Sorry, I'm not used to having guests, you caught me a bit off guard." He extended a rugged hand to her, a silver ring with a large blue stone catching the light. It was the same as Stefan's ring. "I'm Damon, Damon Salvatore- Stefan's older, more _charming_ brother." He winked at her, a smirk curling up the corner of his mouth. "Come on, have a seat." He slyly went from shaking her hand to leading her over to a barstool at the kitchen island. "I'm just finishing up some fresh lemonade- a family recipe."

He grabbed a large butcher knife, deftly chopping a fresh lemon in half. His arm muscles rippled, threatening to explode out of his tight shirt as he twisted the lemon around the juicer. He caught her staring, a blush flaring to her cheeks.

"I know, there are all sorts of fancy juicers nowadays, but I prefer to do things the old fashioned way. Hard work is good for the soul. So enough talking about me, you haven't gotten a word in edgewise yet. Tell me about yourself Elena… what is it?"

"Uhh.." She clammed up. "Gilbert. Elena Gilbert."

"Ah, Gilbert. A founding family. You know, the Salvatores were a founding family too. We already have so much in common. So what brings you here today? My brother Stefan I presume?" He reached into a fruit basket, tossing an orange into the air before plopping it down on the cutting board.

"Stefan invited me over to study. We have a huge history test coming up. I hope it's ok that I let myself in, at least- that's what he told me to do…"

"Studying? Is _that_ what the kids are calling it these days?" He shrugged. "I don't buy it for a second. A girl as beautiful as you- no guy in his right mind would be able to focus alone in a room with you." He grabbed half of the orange. "The mind might start to wander…" He winked again as he began to juice the orange. Bright red liquid oozed from the peel- Elena was confused, and more importantly, she wanted to change the subject.

"I thought you were making lemonade, why are you juicing oranges?"

"Oh, _blood_ oranges. They're the secret ingredient." He locked eyes with her, his voice transitioning to a purring whisper. "You can't tell a soul- or else I'd have to kill you." Red juice ran down his finger. As he licked it off, it tinted his lips a ruby red. Her breath hitched, the moment freezing in time. She felt faint. Suddenly, a chill shot down her spine and her heart began to race. A chuckle broke her paralyzed fear.

"I'm just kidding- but southern families can get very protective over secret recipes you know."

"Southern? I never got that impression from Stefan…"

"Oh, I know. He likes to forget his roots. I'm out working in the valley all day, he doesn't even get up off the porch. That kid has no backbone, whipping around in his Porsche."

"Wait, is the red car out in the driveway his? I've never seen him drive that to school."

"Oh, that was my call. I wasn't going to have him walking into a new school like a rich kid who thinks he owns the place." He poured the juice from the bottom of the juicer into the pitcher.

"So… the pickup truck is yours? You don't strike me as a pickup truck kinda guy." It was true. He seemed rough around the edges, a bit of a bad-boy, but there was a certain air of sophistication about him.

"You'd be surprised _Miss Gilbert_. I can be quite the country boy. The boarding house is actually part of a functioning horse farm. We used to rent out our stables, but since I moved back into town I'm trying to keep it in the family."

"Horses? I _love_ horses."

"You ride?" He poured a liberal amount of sugar into the pitcher, grabbing a large wooden spoon and beginning to stir.

"Ever since I was a little girl!" Her eyes lit up, the discomfort from before completely gone. "I used to do competitions and everything. My bedroom is full of ribbons, trophies.."

"I'd _love_ to see them sometime." He winked. "I learned how to ride as a child, but I didn't do anything quite so fancy. I just like to go out, ride around the fields, check on my gardens, be out with nature." He tapped the spoon on the side of the pitcher a few times, drying it off. He fetched two ornate crystal glasses from the cabinets and filled them with ice from the fridge. Pouring the sweet lemonade into a glass, he placed it in front of Elena.

"That sounds nice actually. How many horses do you have?" She took a sip of the peach-toned beverage. It was sweet- intoxicating almost. She swore she tasted a hint of something floral, perhaps honeysuckle or elderflower. "This is amazing. No really- probably the best lemonade I ever had."

"I lied, there is one more secret ingredient. Honeysuckle trees grow all over the grounds of the house. Once or twice a year I harvest some of the flowers and press it into a syrup." He turned around, grabbing a tall glass bottle off the counter. It was full of delicate white petals and clear thick liquid. "I've been told it can be a bit _addictive_. And as far as the horses go...right now I have three. _Corvo, Nero, _and _Esmeralda_. Would you like to meet them?"

"Of course, but Stefan will probably be back soon, I wouldn't want to make him wait."

"He's going to be out for quite a while, he's doing some quick _hunting._" His smirk made it feel like a euphemism.

"For like… dinner?" She raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Yes, you could say that." Damon dropped the subject, opening the trash can and dumping out the spent fruit carcasses. Elena shifted in her seat, taking a sip of lemonade.

"Well then, I suppose there's no reason not to see the horses if he'll be out for a while."

"I've got the horses in the back, horse tack is attached. We can even take a quick ride if you like." He took a long sip of lemonade, drinking it down quickly.

"You lead the way." Elena smiled timidly, sliding off of the stool. He led her through a massive living room and out a pair of gorgeous glass french doors. The grounds were expansive, going out as far as the eye could see. There were garden beds everywhere. Flowers, vegetables, fruit trees, all beautifully manicured and impeccably maintained.

"Do you take care of all of this yourself?" Elena asked, her eyes wide. Damon laughed.

"Most of it, yes, but I do have some gardeners who help- especially since I tend to come and go rather often." He hung a left, walking them toward a bay of stables. Like the rest of the grounds, the stables were well appointed and distinguished. Large dark beams cradled a high ceiling and the floor was paved in worn-in brick. Damon walked over to a wall, grabbing a matte black cowboy hat off of a hook.

Elena giggled at herself- it wasn't every day that you saw a grown man in a cowboy hat. Somehow, Damon could pull the look off. He caught her staring again.

"You like my hat? I got the boots that's black to match." He put his weight on one hip, cocking his boot on its heel to show it off. This time, Elena couldn't contain her laughter. "Would it change your mind if I told you it was Gucci?" She rolled her eyes.

"Ok, so which one is mine?" She walked down the row of stalls, each containing a spectacular horse.. "Nero is clearly the black one, because 'black' in Italian is 'nero'..."

"Good catch, but your Italian might be a bit rusty. See, 'corvo' means raven- also black." He walked forward with a swagger, gesturing to two stalls. "Now, both of these horses are black. But which is Nero and which is Corvo?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her. She stared down each horse, but there were no obvious clues.

"Nero is this one." He opened the stall on a gorgeous ebony horse. "I don't know how well you do in history class if _Stefan_ is your study partner, but there's a pretty famous story of the Roman Emperor Nero watching Rome burn. My horse Nero has this gorgeous red streak in her tail- it's highly unusual, but reminded me of fire." He gently walked the horse back into is stall.

"By process of elimination then, the other black one is Corvo and the last one is Esmerelda? Which one do you ride the most?"

Damon walked over to the last stall, stroking a dappled mare on the nose.

"I ride Esmerelda the most, she's sweet spirited and calming- I need that sometimes. You know, my life used to be like a movie, full of hot girls, drinking, partying... You're looking at bull riding champion here." He winked. "But since I moved back to Mystic Falls, I've been enjoying the change of pace." Walking over to the horse in the middle, he scratched the dark horse under the chin." Corvo is the fastest and has the most stamina. Nero, he has a bit of a temper-"

He was shocked to look over and see Nero licking at Elena's hand as she giggled and cooed over him. Nero nudged at her, asking for more attention.

"... but I guess he likes you. Would you look at that. I wish I had some snacks you could give him. Remind me to bring some next time. Ok, so if we want to take a ride, the only horse saddled up is Esmerelda. You wouldn't mind hopping on the back with me, would you?" He unlatched the stall, walking Esmerelda out.

Elena would be lying if she didn't blush a bit at the thought. "Um, sure. She is yours after all, it will be faster than saddling up another horse. We won't be out long right? Stefan should be back soon…."

"It's a beautiful day, you know you can't say no to a nice ride. I'm sure he won't mind." Damon climbed onto the horse, swinging his strong legs over its back and settling in comfortably.

"How far out would be be going?"

"Well, I'm going to take my horse to the old town road, I'm gonna ride 'til I can't no more." He purred out in a twang. "Sorry, that's the bayou in me coming out, it happens. So, are you coming?" He reached down his arm to her.

She grabbed his arm, hauling herself onto the horse.

"How could I resist?"


	2. Friday

Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries, the characters, or the stories. If I did, I'd have the respect for them to not make stories based on viral video songs.

_Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep_

A siren is projecting its shrill song through her room, awash in the early morning sunshine glow.

_7:00am_

Elena had slept through her first alarm- she had been incredibly tired from yesterday's horse ride. It had been a few years since she had been on a horse, and her thighs knew it. Even though she was lying still in bed, she could tell that her legs were painfully stiff.

But it was already past her time to wake up in the morning. She had to get freshened up and get downstairs. She stripped out of her pajamas, tossing them onto the floor with reckless abandon on her way to the jack-and-jill bathroom between her room and Jeremy's room. Running this late, she risked conflict for time in the bathroom- Jeremy always was running late for school. Thankfully, the door was unlocked and she had the bathroom to herself.

She had showered last night, so her morning routine was simple. The first step was plugging in the flat iron so that it could heat while she took care of the rest of her routine. Water rushed in the sink, slowly growing warmer as she squirted three pumps of citrusy-smelling face wash into her hand. The soap fluffed into a soft foam, washing away the slightly oily sleep from her face. The washcloth she grabbed to pat her face dry was crisp, smelling of freshly laundered cotton and fabric softener. Upending a bottle of toner onto a cotton round, she swiped the astringent across her face, tightening her pores as it tingled her skin.

_Sunscreen is important_, she remembered, thinking about how she might look when she was older since she used it every day. While she brushed her teeth, she turned off the water, the minty taste of the tooth paste waking her up. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun, and as she pulled the elastic out of it, she was met with a messy, kinked tangle of hair.

_Ok, let's assess the damage. _ She raked a brush through, starting at the ends- it wasn't quite as bad as it looked at first. The heat protectant was sweet smelling, but it couldn't cover up the scent of heating hair completely. Sliding through one-inch wide strands, one by one, she made her way through her head until it was to her satisfaction. It wasn't going to be as perfect as normal given her time crunch. _Good enough, I've got to get dressed, got to go downstairs._

Her clean laundry was folded and sitting on her vanity chair- she forgot to put it away last night. There wasn't any time to go through and try on different outfits today, so she grabbed the first pair of jeans and the plain rose-colored v-neck on the top of the pile. Tossing them on her bed, she went to her dresser grabbing a pair of cute floral bikini underwear, a plain flesh-toned bra and a white camisole. In a matter of seconds she was dressed, the only step left being makeup. A coat of mascara, a dash of eyeliner and a fluff of powder was all she needed for her face and cherry-flavored tinted chapstick was all she wore on her lips. Simple, cute, understated. A far cry from her first-day-of-school outfit she wore a little over a week ago, but it would suffice. She started to race down to the kitchen before she realized she forgot socks, spinning around on the stairs and almost tripping.

Finally down in the kitchen, she glanced at the clock. The pared-down morning routine had only taken her 20 minutes. A strange pride filled her, a result of her newfound utilitarian potential. _Maybe I could get used to this…_ Jolting her mind back to the task at hand, breakfast was next on the agenda. She grabbed a bowl before grabbing some cereal, sitting both down on the kitchen table. Jenna seemed to pop out of nowhere, milk in hand a smile stretched across her face.

"Someone slept in this morning, you were barely up earlier than Jeremy!" The sound of pipes rushing signaled that Jeremy must have finally gotten out of bed and was taking a shower. Elena had really lucked out with her timing.

"Yeah I…" She hesitated. She knew that she was tired from riding horses with Damon yesterday evening, but she wasn't sure she wanted Jenna to know about that. Sure, Aunt Jenna wasn't her real parent, but that didn't mean she didn't ask prying questions like one. You give her an inch, she tries to rip out a mile. " I don't know. I must have just been tired, being back at school and all…"

"You're still a growing girl! You need sleep, that's why I didn't wake you up." She smiled, but this time gently, as she poured milk and handed Elena a spoon. The look behind her eyes told the truth of what she was really thinking. _I'm just happy you're able to sleep so well again after the accident._

Elena did her best to ignore it, not wanting to let her past emotions start off a day on a sour note. She was happy from spending time with horses, and right now that's the only feeling she wanted to focus on. She definitely didn't want to focus on the feelings that Damon stirred in her. Definitely not.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you. My car had to go into the shop for repairs, so I'm going to need to use yours today to drive to campus. I have a meeting with my advisor today, hopefully I can defend my thesis this semester finally… But anyway, I hope you're fine taking the bus? I'd drive you, but I might not be back until late, and you know how I feel about you riding in the car with Caroline..."

"It's no problem, I hope your meeting goes well." It actually was a problem. Elena hadn't taken the bus since the one time her parents went on vacation alone when she was in the 9th grade. For all of high school, either her parents drove her or she drove herself. To be honest, she wasn't even sure she knew what time the bus came down her road. Luckily, since people didn't wait for Jeremy, he took the bus frequently. If he wasn't down here yet, she was in the clear. The time was going, ticking on and on. Elena had only scooped a few spoonfuls of cornflakes in her mouth before Jeremy came storming down the stairs mumbling something along the lines of "_byejennagottagetthebusbye"._

"Wait Jer- Elena is coming with you!" Everybody was rushing- Jenna to slow down Jeremy, Elena to grab her backpack and slide on her Converse, Jeremy to get out the door.

"Alright Elena, speed it up then. We gotta get down to the bus stop, you know, gotta catch the bus?" He rolled his eyes in true teen-boy fashion. Elena's shoes weren't even tied, but she chased after him. Thankfully, the bus stop was only one house down at the corner of the street. The large yellow bus chugged toward them, nearly full to the brim with students as this was one of the last stops. Elena climbed up the awkward stairs before having an upsetting realization.

There were people dressed in soccer uniforms kicking back in the front seat, stoners were chilling in the backseat. Elena couldn't make her mind up.

_Which seat do I take? _She began to panic. This was a social situation she hadn't been faced with in years. There were no completely empty seats, and she barely knew any of these people. They were all mostly freshmen and sophomores. Sure, she was rather popular, but she had fallen off the radar a bit after her parents died.

"I cannot drive the bus until you sit down young lady. Either sit down or apologize to these students and explain why you're going to be the reason they're all late." A grouchy older woman bellowed.

Embarrassed, Elena shuffled forward, taking a seat next to a girl she thought might be in her history class. They sat in silence for the 10 minute ride as the rest of the bus echoed with chatter, rumbled from its diesel engine, and crawled toward school.

* * *

The halls were buzzing with students anxious to get the day over with, looking forward to the weekend. Football games, parties, fitting in a last late-summer weekend at the lake- school was standing between the students and their fun. Elena lazily spun around her combination lock- left three turns, stop at 30. Right one turn, stop at 23. Slide left until 13. She'd been doing this for years, like clockwork. The backpack barely fit in the tiny locker, but once she took out her binder for the first two classes, it was alright. Last year, she had decorated the inside of her locker with photos of her friends, the cheer squad, her parents, Matt- but this year, she didn't feel like it was right anymore. Since her parents died, she broke things off with Matt, missed cheer camp, and backed out of numerous summer parties and sleepovers. Adding in Stefan, her mysterious new guy, and things got complicated. To be honest, she wasn't sure where she stood socially, but regardless, decorating her locker was the least of her worries.

As the metal door closed, it startlingly revealed a very irate Caroline Forbes, her eyes squinted into slits.

"ELENA GILBERT." Her voice was a whispered scream. "Where is your cheer uniform? Did it get sucked into some, I don't know, black hole in your closet? Because there better be a good explanation for you not dressing up for Friday."

_Oh shit._ Elena had completely forgotten.

"Care, I-"

"Save it Gilbert. As captain of the squad, I shouldn't have to remind you how important it is for the squad to wear their uniforms to school on football game fridays. But because of all you've been through this year, I'll let it slide this _one_ time." A delicately manicured, pink-painted fingernail poked her in the chest- hard.

Elena hitched her breath. The platinum blonde girl in front of her was more terrifying than any creature she could imagine.

"Now, let's go get you into one of the spare uniforms."

A thin yet muscled arm wrapped around Elena's shoulder, aggressively dragging her in the general direction of the gym and locker rooms. A few minutes of scolding and digging through old uniforms later, Elena slid into her desk in history class, awkwardly adjusting her one-size-too-small skirt as she settled into her seat. Her eyes darted around, looking for Stefan. Usually, he was in class before her, but as the bell rang he rushed through the door, looking a bit flustered. He took his seat next to Elena.

"Stefan-" She whispered- class would start any second. "Where were you yesterday? I came over to study but you never showed?" A crease sat into her brow. Stefan was new to school, but he hadn't shown himself to be anything other than trustworthy- and Elena Gilbert was not used to being stood up- so the entire situation threw her for a loop.

Shooting an apologetic look at her, his mouth opening to speak. Just before he could get a word out, Mr. Tanner started class. He pursed his lips in frustration.

Elena opened her binder to a blank page, rifling through her pencil case for her favorite purple pen to take notes. The football-coach-slash-history-teacher started to drone on about Mystic Falls history in the civil war, as if all of the students hadn't heard the same five stories their whole lives. About five minutes into zoning out, a delicately folded piece of paper slid across her desk. She didn't even see who wrote it, the maneuver had been so well calculated. Unfolding the crisp edges, she read the swooping, elegant handwriting.

_Elena,_

_I am incredibly sorry about missing our date last night. It is not like me to break promises. I had an emergency come up and couldn't get to my phone to call you. It would be my honor if I could make it up to you later?_

_-Stefan_

_Ps: Your uniform is cute. _

Elena almost laughed at the words 'my honor'. She'd never heard anyone speak that way except in Jane Austen books. Her reply couldn't hold a candle to his, but she could try. She folded her sheet of paper at the corner, making a square that would easily rip off.

_Stefan-_

_It's ok, Damon took me out with the horses, I had fun! We can talk about it later… tonight maybe?_

_Ps- don't sign your notes, if you get caught there's no way of denying it_

She slipped the note over to him when Tanner turned around. His fingers deftly opened up the folded piece of paper, his mouth twitching at the corner in an emotion Elena couldn't quite place. He scribbled down this note so fast that it almost looked inhuman.

_Elena-_

_We need to talk. Meet me after_

"Mr. Salvatore. I don't know what kind of school you came from, but here at Mystic Falls High, passing notes is against the rules." He snatched up the scrap of paper off of Stefan's desk. "Now I could give you detention, or I could just read your note out loud to the class. Ahem." He cleared his throat. "Elena, We need to talk. Oh… there's trouble in some kind of paradise then. You've been here one week and you're already having girl troubles? Miss Gilbert, I assume you've been passing notes as well? I might have been lenient on your behavior last year for… obvious reasons, but this is your last warning this year. You both are lucky you aren't getting detention. Ok class, now where were we…"

Elena was nervous. She knew Stefan wasn't the biggest fan of his brother for some reason, and clearly hanging out with Damon made him very unhappy. The last thing you want to do is make your crush mad, so Elena started calculating what to say to him. When class ended, Stefan started to rush out of the room as fast as possible. Tyler Lockwood however, stepped right into his path.

"Hey, Stefan, heard you're trying out for the football team? Well, I'm having a party at my house tonight, so you should totally come by. I live in the big white house.."

"Oh, the Lockwood mansion, I'm familiar with it."

"We don't call it that, but sure. Well, we're all hanging out around 8:00, so see you there."

"Oh my god, Stefan you just HAVE to come, it's going to be FUN FUN FUN!" Caroline gushed, her ponytail bouncing as she pulled Stefan into the hall. He looked anxiously toward the classroom door, waiting for Elena to exit so they could find somewhere to talk in private. "I mean Friday's in Mystic Falls are EPIC. And Tyler's family is loaded, I mean the sound system is awesome, we all just like really know how to get down, you know? And we…" He started to tune her out.

_What is Elena up to?_ He hoped his note passing didn't get her into trouble. Just as he was about to use his vampire hearing and listen in, Elena got out of the room.

"Sorry Stefan, my brother is in the class after us and he hasn't been showing up, I had to talk to the coach to convince him to not give Jeremy detention."

"Elena, you're DEFINITELY coming to the party at Tyler's tonight right? I mean, the whole squad will be there, and Stefan is coming too, right?"

"If Elena will be there, I'd love to come." His face softened as he looked at Elena, his lips curling into a gentle smile. Elena fought back a blush, but Stefan could gauge her reaction. Their moment was broken by the shrill, second-period warning bell.

"Ok guys, see you there!" Caroline dashed off, a cloud of vanilla body spray lingering in her wake.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Elena said nervously, twirling the end of her ponytail and avoiding eye contact with his gorgeous green eyes.

"Oh it's… not that important. I don't want to get you into more trouble by making you late for class. We'll have plenty of time to talk at the party tonight, that is, if you'll go with me?"

"Of course." She beamed.

"I'll pick you up then. 7:45?"

"That's perfect. I-" The final bell rang. "Oh, shoot, I really need to go now. See you then!"

As she rushed away, her heart fluttered from excitement.

_7:45, I want time to fly. _


End file.
